Electronic entertainment devices, such as television sets and the like, often include dedicated remote control units for operating the particular entertainment devices. Such remote control units are usually comprised of a handheld remote control transmitter and a receiver mounted within the particular entertainment device for detecting and decoding the control signals from the transmitter. Such signals may be electromagnetic (infrared or radio frequencies) or ultrasonic in nature.
Remote control units which utilize an infrared link are generally dependent upon a line of sight path between the infrared transmitter and receiver. In many instances an extension of the operational range of the remote control unit is desirable. For example, a satellite receiver system may include an infrared receiver for operating the unit in accordance with the incoming signals received from the remote control transmitter. If a user is watching television in one part of the house and desires to operate the satellite receiver unit in a different part of the house, he may be out of range of the unit and would have to walk to a different part of the house in order to operate the unit. To alleviate this problem, each television monitor could, of course, be provided with its own selector unit, but this is expensive and not a practical option.